After a quarter-century as dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. John Chapman will take on a new role as Associate Vice Chancellor for Medical Alumni Affairs. (photo by Anne Rayner)
An era to end at Vanderbilt
John and Judy Jean Chapman and their trio of beloved Pekingese, Looty, Pittising and Yum-Yum. Which one's which only the Chapmans know.
At the first Cadaver Ball in 1979, Dean John Chapman came as old "Blood and Guts" himself, U.S. Gen. George S. Patton.
Some things – such as hair and clothing styles – may have changed since the early 70s, but one thing that hasn't is Dean Chapman's fondness for his medical students. The Chapmans have been hosting picnics and outings at their home for more than two decades.
Commencement always has been, and always will be, a special time for Dean John Chapman.
Typically, he's most concerned about how it's going to affect others, especially the students.
That's just the way he is. The way he has always been.
And if you know anything at all about Dr. John E. Chapman, that's the only way you would expect him to be.
Chapman earlier this week announced that he is stepping down as the dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine — a post he has held for the last quarter-century — to take on a new role, that of associate vice chancellor for Medical Alumni Affairs.
To say that it is a big change would be an understatement of classic proportions. Through not only his longevity in the position, but in his accomplishments and achievements, Chapman, whether he sees it this way or not, is synonymous with medical education at Vanderbilt. They are one and the same.
Not only has he conferred medical degrees to two-thirds of the living graduates of VUSM, appointed essentially every one of Vanderbilt University Medical Center's more than 1,000 faculty members and been part of the appointment process for every current department chair, he has also overseen the initiatives that have led the medical school to be consistently ranked number one in the nation in terms of student satisfaction.
"John Chapman's more than three decades of leadership of Vanderbilt's School of Medicine are unprecedented," said Chancellor Joe B. Wyatt. "His influence is felt every day all over the country through the thousands of physicians whom he helped educate and guide. For him, the medical student has always been the top priority. His firm belief that each student deserves individual attention has set the Vanderbilt School of Medicine experience apart from all others."
Dr. Harry R. Jacobson, vice chancellor for Health Affairs, echoed those sentiments.
"John Chapman is truly a giant of American medical education. He has guided the school to the forefront of medical education programs in the nation. His insight, dedication, compassion and devotion to students and medical education are a credit both to him and to Vanderbilt.
"We look forward to John bringing that energy and experience to his new role as Associate Vice Chancellor for Medical Alumni Affairs, and I know he will be as successful in that arena as he has been during his tenure as dean."
Edward G. Nelson, chairman of the Medical Center Board and chairman of Nelson Capital Corp., said the move is a logical one.
"John Chapman's decision to take a new role is a natural extension of his career. He has always been, and will continue to be, a vital part of this institution and the transition of his deanship will appear seamless. It's a good move for John and a good move for Vanderbilt."
Dr. Roscoe R. "Ike" Robinson, vice chancellor for Health Affairs, Emeritus, and a colleague of Chapman's for 16 years, said medical education always came first.
"The most important quality that John brought is his caring for the medical students. John's stewardship of the School of Medicine is reflective of the students and their satisfaction with the Vanderbilt experience. He deserves an enormous amount of credit. I was privileged to work side-by-side with him for so long."
The idea of the "The Dean" not being the dean anymore may be a hard one to get a handle on, especially for Chapman's beloved medical students. Change can often be often jarring, but as Chapman is quick to point out, it is also the only thing that is truly predictable.
"If the world were perfect it would never change," Chapman said earlier this week. "But it isn't and I am simply changing along with it. I'm moving from one role to another. Things change, times change and I am changing roles.
"I am still part of Vanderbilt and always will be."
He will also always be a part of the lives of his students, past and present.
"I'm confident that I speak not only on behalf of my class and the entire school, but also on behalf of all his former students, in saying that Dean Chapman made an extremely positive impact on our lives as students and future physicians," said David Harley, president of the VUSM class of 2000.
"He always said that we were his foremost priority, and that the faculty and administration were here for us, not vice versa. For his commitment to us, we owe him a great debt of gratitude. In many ways, his presence in our lives as a medical role model will surely carry over into our practice of medicine as we pursue the attributes of the 'Good Doctor.' "
Chapman will continue as dean of the School of Medicine until his successor is named and in place. A national search for the institution's eighth medical school dean is planned, but no timetable has yet been set.
Chapman will not relinquish VUSM's helm until another captain is ready to take the bridge, but at the same time he's anxious to take on his newest challenge. Make no mistake — this changing of roles is one that Chapman sought out and it's one he's uniquely suited for.
"To be candid, there are those who will think that this is just a case of moving the old duffer aside," Chapman said. "That is not what is planned. I am interested in doing some things differently, and this seemed a particularly propitious time for me to say to the university 'what is needed that I can do? And not just do, but can do as well or better than anybody else?'
"And the answer is the alumni. I've graduated most of them and our liaison with alumni is good, but it can be better. I am favorably disposed to, and want to, help make Vanderbilt a place where alumni interact regularly, vigorously and effectively with their institution," Chapman said.
The ultimate goal is to take alumni relations to the same lofty heights that medical student relations have reached under Chapman's watch.
"I — along with many, many others — helped put Vanderbilt on the academic map by paying close attention to the needs of students and faculty. It is my intent that the needs of alumni will be similarly met with similar satisfaction. We are number one in student satisfaction in the nation and we want to extend that to alumni of the School of Medicine.
"In reality, this is not retirement," Chapman said. "I would call it a continuation and evolution of what I have done at Vanderbilt for the past 32 years."
And what he has done in his three-plus decades at Vanderbilt is nothing short of remarkable. Since arriving at Vanderbilt in 1967 from the University of Kansas, Chapman has served as: associate dean for Education; associate professor of Pharmacology; director of Continuing Medical Education; professor of Medical Administration; chair of the division of Medical Administration; and dean of the School of Medicine since 1975.
For a period of two years, from 1972 to 1974, Chapman scored the administrative equivalent of a hat trick — serving simultaneously as acting dean of the medical school, acting director of Vanderbilt University Hospital and acting vice chancellor for Health Affairs. During that same period, Chapman's wife, Judy Jean Chapman, served as acting dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, creating the closest thing to a royal family that Vanderbilt has ever seen. Not that it was all pomp and circumstance, though.
"I lost a lot of weight," Chapman said. "I did. I've never been that thin since."
He is a member of virtually every major medical and medical education board or organization, locally, regionally and nationally. He is currently chair of the composite committee of the USMLE and during his career has chaired the nominating committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the Council on Medical Education Nominating Committee, the AAMC Nominating Committee, the Southern Council of Medical Deans, the AMA section on Medical Schools, and the AAMC Committee on Student Finance, to name but a few.
Two years ago, Dr. Richard E. Strain Jr., VUSM-1975, created the Dr. John E. Chapman Lectureship on the Ecology of Medicine and Medical Education. This annual lectureship, established in memory of Strain's father, is devoted to subjects that address the changing role of medicine in our culture.
To list Chapman's many accomplishments would take up a great deal of space and probably embarrass him, but there is one of which he is especially proud. In 1992, he was named Foreign Adjunct Professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, home of the Nobel Prize. The Karolinska Institute awarded Chapman an honorary doctor of medicine degree in 1986.
National and international recognition, awards and accolades, are all acknowledgments of a job well done, which for Chapman always comes back to one thing — medical education. It's been his life's work, and he's done it for so long at such a high level that the magnitude of his contributions, not only to Vanderbilt but to the entire field of medicine, can't be ignored.
He has held the post of dean far longer than anyone in the history of Vanderbilt. Currently, he's the longest-tenured dean of any of the nation's 125 medical schools.
Twenty five years. Pause for a moment to let that sink in. How long is that? Well, look at it this way: When Chapman became dean of VUSM the members of this year's incoming class were busy spitting up on somebody's shoulder — that is if they had even been born yet. He is now graduating medical students who are themselves the offspring of medical students he graduated more than two decades ago.
He and Judy Jean have always held a special place in their lives for the students. They host numerous picnics and get-togethers at their home and have served as caretakers, mentors, confidants and taskmasters to thousands of young men and women as they have gone through the struggles to learn what it takes to become a Vanderbilt physician.
Chapman is looking forward to this next phase of his career, but he is the first one to admit that there are aspects of the deanship that he will truly miss.
"There are two times each year that are really very special to me," Chapman said. "One is addressing the incoming class on the evening before their first day. I consider that a privilege, a responsibility and an honor. The second time is when I confer their medical school diplomas.
"I will miss that."